As de Pique (Ace of Spades)

Chapitre Six: Vieux Amis

Louise followed Tobias to the kitchens. He introduced her to the cooks: Lee Anne and Victorie Aveyard. They were twins - and from what Louise had tasted in the two meals that she'd had at the house - they were very good cooks. It was strange to see things like this Louise. Where she came from before, the cooks were separate from the Leaders, Here, they were equals, even friends. This she gleaned from how Tobias interacted with the twins. They chose what to do. If Louise had wanted to, she could be in the kitchens, cooking with Lee Anne and Victorie. Not that Louise was a good enough cook to cook for the important people in the rebellion.

It turned out that Tobias had been wrong about lunch being ready, because when they entered, the twins were bustling around, tossing salads and stirring soups. Tobias took off his jacket and tossed it in the general direction of the apron hooks, trading it for one of the black aprons there. He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing his pale forearm. Louise noticed a tattoo there in black ink. It read: Vouloir c'est pouvoir.

Tobias turned to Louise, who was standing there with her mouth hanging open. No one where she came from would even think about helping the cooks. Louise, however, loved to cook and removed her own jacket, hanging it carefully on the hook, doing the same to Tobias' jacket and putting on her own apron.

"Need some help?" Tobias called.

"What does it look like? We're up to our necks in soup!" Lee Anne called back. "Grab yourself a spoon and replace Victorie at the soup."

' Tobias obeyed and began stirring the creamy soup, stealing tastes.

"Hey, Louise! Are you gonna just stand there?" Lee Anne snapped. "Do you know how to make rolls?"

"Yes," Louise replied.

"Well, get cooking!"

Louise smiled, glad to have a distraction from all of the confusing thoughts running through her head.

Tobias stole a glance at Louise, who was adding ingredients to a bowl. She had flour on her face. He smiled, she set right into the hustle and bustle of the kitchen. He felt a tap on the shoulder. Victorie was standing there.

She signed, Hey, loverboy, the soup's burning. He quickly turned back to what he was doing and save the soup.

Louise looked up from what she was doing. She watched Tobias leaning against the counter, talking to Victorie. Victorie was gorgeous, her black hair was long and shiny. Her olive skin was almost metallic, making her shine with an almost alien glow. Louise was so distracted by the other girl's beauty that she overlooked the fact the Victorie wasn't speaking, she was signing. Obviously, she wasn't deaf, because Tobias was speaking to her normally. Tobias noticed her looking. "Later," he mouthed.

She gave him a thumbs-up and he smiled, turning back to his conversation. Louise saw Victorie sign something like She's pretty. Tobias smile and looked away, muttering something that Louise didn't catch. Louise turned back to her rolls, which had risen. She put them in the oven and turned it on. She wiped her hands on her apron, leaving streaks of white flour on the coarse black fabric. The bandages on her hands had held up surprisingly well, but there was flour stuck between the folds of the bandages.

"Soup's done!" Tobias called, causing Lee Anne to turn towards him.

She raised an eyebrow. "I certainly hope that you didn't screw it up," said Lee Anne.

Tobias laughed lightly. "I've helped you in the kitchen for years. How many times have I messed up the food?"

Victorie signed, A lot.

Tobias rolled his eyes. "Fair enough, Victorie. But I assure you, my soup is spectacular."

Louise folded her arms and leaned against the counter that she had been working at. She felt separate from Tobias, Victorie, and Lee Anne. She supposed that they were friends before she was taken, but she didn't remember so it was like she'd never known them. She'd never had many friends in New Paris, and she'd often wondered if maybe she didn't belong there. As it turned out, she was right. The thing that she wondered now was: why didn't the Monarchy kill her, why did they keep her as one of their agents? She thought that maybe it was because of her sharp wit and skills in combat. Maybe the Monarchy had been watching her for a while and when they raided, they wanted her to be a part of the king's elite.

Tobias stepped aside to allow Lee Anne to sample his soup. His face showed surprise when she tasted it. "It's good," she said.

"Always the tone of surprise," said Tobias, feigning offense.

You're not known for your cooking skills, Mr. Jericho, Victorie remarked.

"Touché, Ms. Aveyard," Tobias said.

Behind them, the oven dinged, causing them to turn towards Louise, who was taking the rolls out of the oven. The lovely aroma of freshly baked bread filled the kitchen, mingling with the other smells of the meal that they were cooking, complimenting it nicely.

Lee Anne inhaled deeply. "Well, they smell good," she said.

"I should hope so," Louise said, smiling. She studied Lee Anne's features. Lee Anne and her sister did look quite similar, but where Victorie was dainty and ladylike, Lee Anne was robust and brusque. She had callouses and burn scars on her hands from life in the kitchen, and her presence filled a room with warmth and laughter. She had a sharp tongue and a quick wit but was also kind. You could see it on her face when she looked at her sister.

Lee Anne smiled back and plucked a roll from the tray, biting into it. "Very good Ms. de Noir. It's a pleasure to have you in my kitchen again."

Louise smiled and put the tray down. As soon as she did so, Lee Anne enveloped her in a hug that smelled like cinnamon, garlic, and other smells that you would think wouldn't go together, but did. Louise hugged her back, feeling safe and at home. "I've missed you, Louise," whispered Lee Anne. Louise couldn't help it, she felt tears burn her eyes. Even though she didn't remember Lee Anne physically, she did emotionally. Now that she was feeling the hugs that she had missed for almost ten years, she felt ten years of emptiness weigh on her heart.

Squeezing Lee Anne tighter, she breathed: "I've missed you too," as tears ran down her face. 

Hi! It's me, speaking again after FOREVER, it feels like. So, I've just been a bit overwhelmed with - well, everything - so I haven't been updating. Sorry.

I've been working on this story for a while now, and I've had it on Wattpad since November or December. It's something that I began to write because of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which is a contest in November. Sadly, I did not complete the task of writing a 50,000-word novel in one month because I started a bit too late. Anyway, I'm really excited to write this book because, for the first time since I've started writing on here, I'm trying to put an actual theme into my book. 

I know you all are thinking: Oh my god when is she going to get to her point? But I have one, I swear. So, all things considered, I'm going to put all of the stories I have up on here on hold so I can focus on this one because I've found that I really enjoy writing it. I connect deeply with many of the characters in it and I enjoy writing from the perspective of an avid writer (Louise). The things I've said about looking at people from the perspective of writing about them I really enjoy. 

So, there. I made my point.

If you made it all the way to the author's note, please comment Vouloir Ce'st Pouvoir.

Also, if you know what that means, please comment that as well. If you get it first, you get a dedication.